FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FLORIDA REPUBLICANS - PAGE 4

Republicans, who already control the majority of Florida's state and federal political offices, expect to gain as many as four congressional seats and as many as nine legislative seats under redistricting maps the House approved on Wednesday. While consensus between the House and Senate on redistricting remains far apart, the House voted for three redistricting maps that set political boundaries for the 160 state legislative seats and 25 U.S. House seats. The Senate's proposals remain in committee and are substantially different from the House proposals.

National Democrats are pointing to Jim Greer?s resignation as Republican Party chairman in Florida as a sign that the GOP will suffer at the polls this year because of a rift between its conservative and moderate wings. Their references to a Republican ?civil war? are designed to counter a batch of bad news for Democrats: the decision of several members of Congress not to seek re-election, and prospects for major Republican gains in this year?s elections. Tim KaineBoth trends are true.

Susan Goldstein represents a change for voters in Florida House District 97. For starters, she's a moderate Republican vying to represent a district that has a history of supporting strong, liberal Democrats. There are, however, two qualities that Goldstein shares with her two Democratic predecessors, Nan Rich and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The first is that she understands the legislative process. The second is a history of advocating for improvements in Florida's public education and children's services.

It's only a snapshot, but the picture isn't pretty for Florida's right-wing fringe. Not only is President Obama leading his wannabe challengers from the Republican Party by sizeable numbers, but Florida's senior Senator Bill Nelson is ahead of the GOP's presumptive nominee Connie Mack IV, a U.S. Representative from Cape Coral, Fla. Oh the agony! This is not the way Republicans envisioned it. Florida was supposed to be a political slam dunk for the forces of freedom, low-to-no-taxes and the immediate repeal of Obamacare.

President Obama is coming to South Florida Monday evening to raise money for Congressman Ron Klein and to rev up fellow Democrats, but Republicans claim the visit will help their candidates. Florida Republicans say visits by Obama and other national Democratic leaders only highlight the unpopularity of their economic policies. "President Obama coming to Florida is going to boost turnout for Republicans," asserted Florida Republican Senator George LeMieux in a conference call with reporters.

President Clinton helped round up $3.5 million of campaign cash on Monday night in the largest Democratic fund-raiser ever held outside of Washington, D.C. Organizers of the $1,500 a plate fund-raiser have known since January that the president would be their star attraction. "You go wherever you can to collect the most money, and South Florida is the place you do that," said Mitch Berger, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer and co-chairman of finance for the Democratic National Committee. Berger said the Clintons decided to come to Broward County when they committed to the Bal Harbour fund-raiser.

Only days before the primary, two of three Florida Republicans still have not picked a candidate for agriculture commissioner. Three are vying for the GOP nomination to face Democrat Bob Crawford, the Senate president from Winter Haven, in November. But no clear favorite has emerged, the Florida Newspaper Poll shows. Still mostly unknown to Republican voters are Brevard County rancher Charles Bronson, real estate broker and former Agriculture employee Jack Dodd and Palm Beach County Commissioner Ron Howard.

Sen. Ted Cruz is Florida Republicans' Frankenstein monster, the son of Rick Scott. Everyone is pinning the debacle of the shutdown of the federal government and the threat of default on the nation's debt on Cruz alone. But the truth is the Florida GOP set in motion the dynamics that led to Cruz's meteoric rise to national prominence, and the recent "Cruz-ifiction" of the party. Follow the bouncing ball: In 2008, Sen. John McCain's bid for the Republican presidential nomination was practically dead until he won the Florida primary.

ORLANDO -- Florida Republicans, the state`s longtime political bridesmaids, may be poised to grab more power through a marriage of convenience with the conservative followers of former television evangelist Pat Robertson. "When you`ve been number two as long as we`ve been, you`ve got to try a little harder and do what you can," said Jim McConnaha, 58, of Merritt Island. McConnaha`s sentiments reflect those of many of the 2,500 delegates at the two-day state GOP Presidency II convention, which ended on Saturday.

During the closing days of the campaigns, the election was like a hurricane. Everyone knew what was coming, but the destruction of the Democrats — even in party strongholds like liberal South Florida — was stunning. Democrats lost a Broward County Commission seat to Republican Chip LaMarca. And they lost a Palm Beach County -based Florida Senate seat to Republican Lizbeth Benacquisto as Florida Republicans ran up majorities greater than two-thirds in the state House and Senate.